Student Life News

New Honors Students Explore and Spruce Up Downtown Pittsburgh for Day of Service

Point Park honors students pick up litter along the Eliza Furnace Trail in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Point Park's newest members of the Honors Program came together to spruce up Downtown Pittsburgh, the North Shore and Southside Riverfront Park as part of the program's annual "City as Text" volunteer project, held this year on Aug. 21.

The "City as Text" project is designed to teach freshmen and transfer students about Downtown Pittsburgh — learning about neighborhoods, local flavor of the city, civic pride, famous people from the area, etc. — and to showcase that the city is an extension of Point Park's campus to explore during their college career.

Teaming up with Friends of the Riverfront, 79 new honors students and 18 upperclassmen mentors spent the day picking up litter and mulching/weeding trees on the Eliza Furnace Trail, the North Shore and Southside Riverfront Park.

Here's what the group had to say about their experience:

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"It's been great to get out and explore Downtown Pittsburgh. I'm from Ohio and had no idea that Pittsburgh has these trails. It's been cool to discover my new home for the next four years and a great way to give back to the community." — Mina Hoffman, cinema production major.

"Community service day was a great opportunity to help clean up the trails. I enjoyed meeting other students in my major and checking out the city. I'm going to be using the Eliza Furnace Trail to bike from my house in Squirrel Hill to get to campus every day." — Balint Oltvai, cinema production major.

"Working with Friends of the Riverfront has been a great way to give back to the city and meet new friends. I had such a great day exploring such a cool place with my friends." — Kylie Klass, musical theatre major.

"I think it's a great asset for Friends of the Riverfront to have these young volunteers who are eager to work. It's a great opportunity for them to work and get involved with the trail." — Sarah Carr, program manager, Friends of the Riverfront.

"Meeting so many new friends has been so cool. These trails are useful to everyone and it's been really nice to help make them look nicer for people to use." — Jessica Webb, multimedia major.

"I had so much fun at community service day meeting new friends and contributing to such a great cause. It's always a good feeling knowing that you are giving back to the community." — Emily Yount, multimedia major.

Following the service activities, the students enjoyed lunch and walking tours in Downtown Pittsburgh with their mentors. Students shared their photos and highlights of the day in a presentation for the group. Check out more from their day on Facebook.